Author Jonathan Lethem declares war on copyright laws-- in a bid to sell more books.

Jonathan Lethem, 43, the celebrated author of Motherless Brooklyn and The Fortress of Solitude, has come out in favor of plagiarism--of his own work. In an essay in the February issue of Harper's he argues that onerous copyright laws hamper creativity and deprive the public of innovation. His solution: "You, reader, are welcome to my stories."

In November 2006 he unveiled the Promiscuous Materials Project on his Web site, inviting filmmakers and playwrights to adapt his short stories for the bargain price of $1 apiece. Part of his motive: to sell more books. "It isn't the strengthening of copyright law that allows me to make money," the Brooklyn author allows. "It's readers."

And these days the best way to stoke sales of books is through the movies based on them. Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, published in 2003, sold an extra 2 million copies in 2006 amid the buzz surrounding the release of the film, which grossed $758.2 million in theaters last year. Winston Groom ( Forrest Gump) and Chuck Palahniuk ( Fight Club) saw their book sales explode after successful film adaptations.

Lethem had high hopes in 1999 when he sold the film rights to Motherless Brooklyn, his fifth novel (and first breakout hit), to actor Edward Norton for $600,000. Six years later he sold an option on his sixth title, The Fortress of Solitude, to Joshua Marston, director of Maria Full of Grace. But neither of the deals has led to so much as a full casting, and their exclusivity bars Lethem from seeking other filmmakers.

Twice burned by Hollywood, Lethem now woos independent auteurs by offering them buck-a-shot options via his Promiscuous project. He has posted 17 short stories on the Web, requiring only that he get credit as author of the source material. (Two filmmakers, one in Germany and one in Chicago, now are at work on separate adaptations of the same short story.)

Lethem has been swamped with critical praise for the two books he rented out. Motherless Brooklyn sold an estimated 120,000 copies, The Fortress of Solitude 90,000, landing both on regional bestseller lists; sales of 6,000 copies of a hardcover novel are considered respectable. Like many authors, he likely collects at most $3 per hardcover sale; a good movie could help him move far more copies.

For his latest novel, You Don't Love Me Yet, he all but gave away film rights to Greg Marcks, a Los Angeles indie filmmaker, whose last film, 11:14, starred Oscar winner Hilary Swank. Lethem is requiring a fee of 2% of the film's total budget once Marcks lands a distributor. And this time the option expires in five years. If the movie doesn't get made, Lethem can go elsewhere. The author, surprisingly, also required that five years after the book and movie come out, they must enter the public domain to become available, free of charge, to anyone; copyright protection usually lasts 70 years after the death of the author.

You Don't Love Me Yet hit store shelves in March, the same day Lethem unveiled his unique film option online. Most reviews praised the novel and mentioned the project and his Web site. So far the book has sold 7,000 copies, more than most of his earlier titles had sold in a similar period. His publisher, Random House, has endorsed the online handout--in part because it never had the film rights to begin with. For Lethem the greatest risk is that his name become associated with cinematic junk. Given the alternative, he says, "I've learned to make my peace with that risk."